Rick Thompson | Partner
Rick Thompson joined the firm on November 1, 2018 and is an experienced civil appellate attorney who is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Formerly a Partner at Hankinson, LLP and an Assistant Solicitor General at the Solicitor General’s Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Rick has successfully presented numerous oral arguments in state and appellate courts throughout Texas, including the Texas Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Rick has also appeared before the United States Supreme Court in several cases.
Rick’s appellate experience spans many substantive and procedural areas, including state and federal constitutional and jurisdictional issues, as well as administrative and governmental appeals. He has particular depth in issues related to sovereign immunity. Over the course of his career, Rick has represented clients that include oil and gas companies, governmental entities, and private individuals.
Rick represents clients not only in post-trial proceedings and all other aspects of the appellate process, but also during the pretrial and trial phases of litigation. Rick is often asked to collaborate with trial counsel to develop and execute pretrial and trial strategy.
Rick received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Louisiana State University and with honors and Order of the Coif from the University of Texas School of Law, where Rick also served as Executive Editor of the Texas Law Review. Following graduation from law school, Rick clerked for the Honorable Royce C. Lamberth of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
-
CPM Texas LLC, v. Harper, No. 13-24-00072-CV, 2024 WL 4379259 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg Oct. 3, 2024, no pet. h.) (mem. op.)
Successfully affirmed the denial of an unlicensed builder’s motion to dismiss for failure to provide a certificate of merit under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 150.002. The Court of Appeals held that Chapter 150’s certificate of merit requirement does not apply to claims against defendants who are not building professionals as defined by the Act.Royalty Asset Holdings II, LP v. Bayswater Fund III-A LLC, No. 08-22-00108-CV, 2023 WL 2533169 (Tex. App.—El Paso Mar. 15, 2023, no pet. h.) (mem. op.)
Successfully reversed a trial court’s order granting summary judgment in case involving royalties owed under oil and gas lease. Discussing the legacy of the 1/8th royalty in Texas law and the estate misconception theory, the court determined that the language of a 1924 Deed reserved a floating royalty interest, not a fixed royalty interest, and remanded the case to determine the amount of damages owed to the firm’s client.
Read Opinion -
DP&S Partner Rick Thompson Honored by State Bar of Texas LGBTQ+ Law Section
Durham, Pittard & Spalding is proud to share that partner Rick Thompson has been selected to receive the Judge Norman W. Black Award from the State Bar of Texas LGBTQ+ Law Section. Read more.Super Lawyers Honors 7 in Durham, Pittard & Spalding Offices in Texas and New Mexico
Durham, Pittard & Spalding is proud to announce that seven firm attorneys are honored in the 2025 Super Lawyers guides for Texas and New Mexico. Read more.Congratulations to our 2024 Texas Super Lawyers!
Five of our talented attorneys have been selected to the prestigious 2024 Texas Super Lawyers list, an accolade reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the state. Congratulations to Kirk Pittard, Thad Spalding, Leighton Durham, Rick Thompson, and Lara Hollingsworth for this much-deserved honor! Dallas partner, Kirk Pittard, was also included in the Top 100 for Dallas/Fort Worth!Rick Thompson wins important asbestosis-causation ruling in Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals!
Rick Thompson wins important asbestosis-causation ruling in Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals!Congratulations to Rick Thompson, Valerie Farwell, and trial counsel, Richard Dodd, who convinced Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals to reverse an asbestos MDL summary judgment ruling on causation. The Court of Appeals found there to be a fact issue on direct causation, precluding summary judgment, where there were no other “plausible sources” of asbestos exposure.
Congratulations to our 2022 Texas Super Lawyers!
Congratulations to DP&S Dallas partners Leighton Durham, Kirk Pittard, Thad Spalding, and Rick Thompson who were, once again, named “Super Lawyers” in the Appellate category by by Super Lawyers Magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication, for 2022.Congratulations to our 2021 Texas “Super Lawyers”!
DP&S is proud to announce that Kirk Pittard, Leighton Durham, Rick Thompson, and Thad Spalding have all been named “Super Lawyers” in the Appellate category by by Super Lawyers Magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication, for 2021.Kirk Pittard and Rick Thompson are Best Lawyers for 2022!
DP&S is proud to announce that Kirk Pittard and Rick Thompson are, once again, selected to be among the Best Lawyers in America, in the Appellate Practice category.
Phone: (888) 998-6688
Fax: (214) 807-1799
✉ Email Rick
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 224626, Dallas, TX 75222
Physical address:
2223 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas, TX 75208